


Proper Revenge

by Eastofthemoon



Series: Something Familiar [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Familiars, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Team as Family, Witch Curses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 03:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14803524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eastofthemoon/pseuds/Eastofthemoon
Summary: Ever since Keith became one of Allura's familiars, Lance had found it difficult to get along with him.  However, that all changes when Shiro sends the two of them to go shopping.





	Proper Revenge

“You’re in my spot.” Lance’s tail twitched in annoyance he watched Keith lazily raised his cat head and yawn before rolling to his side.

“I didn’t see your name here,” Keith said as he shut his eyes.

“This is my favorite napping spot,” Lance growled as he poked his paw at him. “I sleep on this pillow, on this couch because it’s right under the window and makes a perfect patch of sun.”

Keith cracked open an eye. “Then sleep here, I’m not stopping you.”

“Not exactly possible when you’re here.”

“Then just wait your turn then.”

“I’ve waited long enough!” Lance said as he tried to shove Keith off. “Off the pillow.”

Keith hissed as he dug his claws into the couch. “Hey! Knock it off!”

“You knock it off!”

“I’M NOT DOING ANYTHING!”

“Okay, that’s quite enough!”

Both cats yelped as they felt hands picked them up and found themselves staring into Shiro’s disapproving face.

“Are you two fighting again?” Shiro asked.

Keith and Lance sheepishly looked at each other before they turned their heads away. Shiro sighed as he set them down.

“Change into human form,” he requested with his hands on his hips. “Both of you.”

Lance pouted before sighing and changed into his human form. He leaned back and sulked as Keith shifted back into his.

“For the record,” Lance began. “I didn’t start this.”

Keith choked. “I was just laying here when you decided to start shoving me.”

“Because this is my spot,” Lance said with an eye twitch.

Lance knew he was being a brat, but he couldn’t help it. He already had to share Allura’s attention with the newbie, he refused to share anything else that was rightfully his since he began living here.

Keith tossed his hands up in the air. “You can’t own a spot.”

“We do in this house!”

“No, we don’t,” Shiro said as he sat on the coffee table. “Lance, you know that isn’t how it works here.”

Lance huffed as he turned his head away. “Well, there should be seniority rights and I was here before him.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “If that’s how you want to play, then I guess I can tell Hunk and Pidge they get dibs on the first serving of dessert.”

Lance choked and then blushed. “Alright, no seniority.”

Shiro ran a hand through his hair as he looked to both of them. “Look, I know this is a big adjustment for both of you, but you got to learn how to get along.” He crossed his arms. “We not only live together now, but we also have to work together for Allura’s sake.”

Lance felt a twinge of guilt at that. Allura had been the one to give him a home when he thought he would never find one again. Last thing he would want would be to make things more difficult for her.

Keith lowered his head and sighed. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, sorry,” Lance said with a sigh. “We’re not doing it on purpose.”

It wasn’t as if Lance enjoyed bickering, but it wasn’t as if Keith has a warm personality he could click with.

“I know,” Shiro said with a small smile as he reached into his pocket, “and I believe the best solution is for you two to spend some quality time together.”

Keith choked as Lance widened his eyes fearfully. “Please tell me you’re not locking us in a room together,” he asked.

Shiro laughed. “Nothing that extreme.” He handed the piece of paper over to them. “I was about to go out and ask Hunk to help me shop, but now I believe this is something you two should do.”

Keith raised an eyebrow as he took the paper. “You want us to shop together?” 

“Yes.”

“Shiro, that’s a terrible idea,” Keith replied.

“Yeah, for once I agree with him,” Lance said as he pointed to Keith. “I sincerely doubt we’re going to bond over groceries.”

“It’ll be a start and you two don’t get a choice in this,” Shiro said firmly as he narrowed his eyes. “You either do this together, or I can tell Coran he has two volunteers to assist him cleaning the attic.”

Lance paled. “The attic?” He pointed upward. “You mean the place where Allura’s father kept his collection?”

Keith tilted his head. “Collection?”

“Allura’s father had a habit of picking up random magical items he stumbled across,” Shiro explained. “Including a couple of cursed items.”

Lance shivered as he hugged himself. “Last time I went up there, I found a curse sword that nearly sliced my tail off.”

Keith’s mouth hung opened and looked to Shiro. “And they’re just kept up in the attic?”

“Yes, with a bunch of wards to keep them secured,” Shiro said with a smirk as he loomed over them. “And it’s way overdue for a cleaning.”

Lance groaned as he slumped down on the couch. “Fine, I’ll go shopping with Keith.”

“Yeah, ditto,” Keith said as he rubbed his neck. “I rather deal a few hours with Lance then go in there.”

Lance huffed at that, but kept quiet since he was basically saying the same thing.

“Good,” Shiro said as he exited the room. “Just go and ask Allura for the money, and I’ll be checking you got every item on that list.”

Lance watched him go and moaned as he shut his eyes. “All I wanted to do was just take a nap.”

“You can take one when we get back,” Keith said as he yanked on his arm. “Come on, let’s go get this over with.”

Lance let Keith drag him off the couch, and gave his favorite spot one more looking longing before leaving.

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Much to Lance’s relief, sost of the things on the list were items that could be purchased from the local farmer’s market. Hunk prefered the fresh produce here, and there was more room to move around than inside the grocery store.

The only downside was it was packed with people at this time of day, and Lance was stuck with someone who still wasn’t use to gliding through a crowd. 

Lance sighed as he held the bag of tomatoes and looked back over his shoulder. “Keith, keep up will you.”

Keith grunted as he tried to weave his way through a line at the cheese stand. “I’m trying,” he grunted.

Lance rolled his eyes before he extended his hand, grabbed Keith and yanked him forward. Keith gasped for air as if he had just be saved from drowning.

“Thanks,” he mumbled as he looked back. “I never had this trouble getting through a crowd.”

“That’s because you currently only have two legs and only went up to their ankles,” Lance said as he looked over the list. “We needed to get some fish.”

Keith narrowed his eyes as he sniffed the air and then sighed. “Human noses are useless.”

Lance gave a half smile. He couldn’t argue with him there. That was one of the drawbacks of their human forms. It felt like their noses were stuffed with cotton and they couldn't’ smell a thing. It amazed Lance that humans were able to function with their noses like that.

“The fish vendor is over there,” Lance said as he pointed over his shoulder. 

Lance didn’t want for Keith and stormed on ahead, but did glance back to check that Keith was keeping up. There weren’t many people at the fish stand, which made it a lot easier to look over the selections of fish fillets.

“So, what kind are we getting?” Keith asked.

“List didn’t say,” Lance said with a shrug. He had to assume Coran was the one to make the list. Had Hunk written it he would have specifically stated on what kind of fish to get.

Lance grasped his chin in thought until he spotted a large fillet of fish near the front. “This one,” he declared as he pointed. “We should get salmon.”

Keith frowned as he pointed to another fillet near the back. “But the haddock is cheaper.”

Lance narrowed his eyes. “Salmon tastes better.”

“But Allura said we have to stay on budget.”

“It is within our budget,” Lance argued as he pointed to the price. “We can afford this.”

“Just because we can doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to save money.”

Lance growled as he rubbed his eyes. “It’s just fish! We’re not going to break the bank-”

“Hey, excuse me, Sir? But do you have any smoked salmon?”

Lance froze. He knew that voice. Steadily, he turned his head and swallowed. Standing next to him was a young man with blonde hair who had his arms crossed. He was totally oblivious to Lance staring at him with eyes wide as saucers.

_Rob,_ Lance thought. He hadn’t seen him since..that night, but Lance never imagine he would see him again like this.

The fish vendor frowned and shook his head. “Sorry, I do sell it sometimes, but I’m out this week.”

Rob cursed as he tugged at his hair. “Great, my wife told me I had to get it.”

Lance stared silently and barely noticed Keith tugging on his sleeve.

“Hey, Lance,” Keith asked. “You okay?” 

Lance didn’t answer as he watched Rob massage his forehead.

“Great,” Rob grumbled. “Guess I’m going to have to tell her we need something else.”

Lance felt his hands tightened.

“I know another guy that does sell it,” the fish vendor continued as he pointed. “He’s on the other side of the market.”

Rob sighed. “Thanks, but I’ll just find something else. She’ll just have to deal with it-”

“So, you’re willing to stand up for what’s for dinner, but not for your pet.” Lance clamped his hand over his mouth.

He hadn’t meant to say that aloud, but the damage was done as he felt every pair of eyes on him.

Rob frowned and tilted his head. “Pardon?”

Lance shook as he silently cursed. _Crud, crud! What do I do?_

Suddenly, Keith jumped in and pulled Lance aside. “He was just saying regular salmon is good too,” he spoke hastily. “It doesn’t have to be smoked does it?”

Rob frowned and shrugged. “You would think that, but my wife is picky.”

_Wife, huh?_ Lance thought bitterly. _Guess it means they got married._

“Ah, well...uh,” Keith stammered as he rubbed his neck. “Guess it can’t be helped.”

Rob nodded and frowned as he pointed to Lance. “Hey...have we met?”

Lance turned his face away as he felt his heart pound in his chest. “No,” he said firmly.

“You sure?” Rob scratched his cheek. “Can’t put my finger on it, but I swear-”

Lance didn’t let him finished. He turned away and suddenly found himself running from the stand. He heard Keith shout his name, but Lance ignored it. He ran, and found he couldn’t stop as he weaved through the crowd.

Memories of running through a rainstorm came back to him. He had been cold, hungry and worst of all scared. Lance didn’t stop until he reached an alleyway and ducked inside. He panted as he collapsed on the ground and buried his face into his arms as he leaned against the wall.

“Stupid, stupid,” he muttered. “Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut?”

His body still shook as he forced himself to breath deeply. He heard footsteps, but barely register them until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Fearful it was Rob who tracked him down, Lance jumped, but his fear disappeared as he saw Keith.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said. “Don’t scare me like that.”

He expected Keith to snap back at him, but instead his eyes hardened. The boy sat next to him, while still keeping his hand on Lance’s shoulder.

“Lance, who was that?” he asked.

Lance shifted uncomfortably as he tried to pay attention at the wall ahead of him. “Who was who?”

“You know who I mean,” Keith said in a more gentle tone. “You clearly know that guy. Who is he?”

Lance chewed his bottom lip. He could refuse to answer Keith, but he would probably ask Shiro about it later and that would bring up some uncomfortable history. He sighed as he shut his eyes.

“It’s dumb,” he said.

“I don’t think so if he got you that upset,” Keith said as he moved in closer. “Did..you know him when you were a stray?”

Lance gave a bitter laugh and opened his eyes. “No, he’s the reason I became a stray.” He glanced up to Keith’s confused expression. “He use to be my owner.”

Keith’s eyes widened. “Owner? But Shiro told me you you’ve been a stray.”

“I was too,” Lance said and sighed. “Actually, Rob, the guy from the fish stand was my second owner. My first owner was this sweet old lady named Margaret.” He gave a wistful smile at the memories. “She was an awesome owner; always gave me pats, loved to cuddle, and even set up a small pool for me to swim in the backyard on hot days.”

Margaret always laughed when Lance would dive in and then shake the water off his fur. It always made Lance feel good he was being useful to her.

Keith frowned as he leaned forward. “So..what happened?”

Lance’s lowered his gaze to his feet. “She died,” he said softly. “She passed away in her sleep while she was visiting her sister.”

Lance swallowed. The last time he had seen Margaret was when she was giving him one last pat before she headed out the door. He had only found out about her death when her sister appeared at the apartment to temporarily bring Lance to her house. He always regretted he didn’t get to say goodbye to her.

Keith gently squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

Lance looked to him and gave a slight nod. “I’m..just glad she didn’t suffer, you know?”

Keith nodded as he took his hand back. “So, how did you end up with that Rob guy?”

“I basically got dumped on him because he can’t say ‘No’,” Lance said as he tried to hold back the bitterness. “He was Margaret’s nephew and when no one else was willing to take me in, I was given to him.” He shrugged. “He never hurt me or anything, but he basically just fed and tolerated me. It wasn’t ideal, but it was fine.”

“Until?” Keith asked.

Lance kicked a nearby pebble away. “Until he met his new girlfriend who I’m assuming is his wife now.” He glanced back to Keith with a strained smile. “She didn’t like cats, so she gave him a choice of either keeping her or getting rid of me.” He tossed his hands up. “Before I realized what was happening, Rob put me in a box, ditched me on a sidewalk downtown and took off!”

He buried his face into his arms as he shook from the memory. Lance had never been so confused and scared in his life, and it wasn’t a feeling he never want to revisit.

Lance had spent the next couple of weeks wandering and pawing at different houses, hoping someone would let him in. However, the people inside either ignored him or opened the door and dashing Lance’s hope by chasing him away.

Lance had almost given up when during a rainstorm when he stumbled upon a large manor and decided to try one more time. Allura opened, and Lance prepared himself to run, but to his amazement Allura didn’t chase him off. She instantly removed her shawl, wrapped Lance in it and brought him inside to get warm. It had been his home ever since.

“Do the others know this?” Keith asked.

“No,” Lance said as he rubbed his neck. “I..I never told them. It’s stupid since I know they would understand, but..I just feel embarrassed by the whole thing.” 

“Why?” Keith asked.

“Because...maybe if I had been a better pet he could have kept me,” Lance replied. “It’s dumb, but I feel like it was somehow my fault sometimes.”

Keith frowned. “But it wasn’t. Rob made the choice of abandoning you.”

“And that’s what I always tell myself,” Lance said with a bitter smile, “but it’s a hard feeling to shake off.”

Keith was quiet, and for a second Lance thought he was going to stay that way until Keith let out a deep breath. “I wished I had punched him.”

Blinking, Lance raised his head. Keith was angry, but it clearly wasn’t at him as he gently patted Lance’s back. Lance attempted a weak smile. “Thanks, but it wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“It’s the least the guy deserves,” Keith as he ran a hand through his hair. “Do you ever plan to tell the others?”

Lance shut his eyes. “I want to, but..I don’t like remembering it’s and it’s part of the reason I wasn’t thrilled when you came along-” He cut himself off and blushed. Oh crud, he hadn’t meant to say that.

Lance fearfully looked to Keith expecting a look of anger, but Keith tilted his head thoughtfully.

“You..were afraid I was going to replace you?” Keith asked.

Lance pressed his lips together. “Yeah...it’s dumb, I know, but I couldn’t help but worry Allura would dump me so she could have more room for new cats.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Allura wouldn’t do that.”

“I know, it’s ridiculous,” Lance grumbled as he ran his hands through his hair. “And of course now I just snapped at the guy...arrg, it’s all messed up.”

Keith patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said, “and if it helps, I won’t tell the others.”

Lance paused and turned to him. “You won’t?”

Keith nodded.

“Not even Shiro?” Lance pointed at him. “I mean you guys are close-”

“I don’t tell Shiro everything,” Keith replied. “And I don’t like revealing people’s secrets if I don’t have to, so my lips are sealed.”

Lance swallowed and nodded. “Thanks..and I’m sorry for not exactly giving you the best welcome.”

“I wasn’t exactly friendly either,” Keith replied with a shrug. “Don’t dwell on it too much.”

Lance smiled. Keith was hard to read sometimes, but he was clearly sincere in keeping his word. He then slowly rose and rotated his shoulders. “Alright, better get back to the shopping.”

He went to leave, but Keith caught his arm.

“Wait,” Keith said as he blocked his path. “Do you know where Rob lives?”

Lance frowned. “Um..yeah, if he hadn’t moved from his old house.” Given part of the reason Rob got rid of Lance was because his girlfriend had wanted to move in with him. “Why?”

Keith smirked as he crossed his arms. “Because you deserve some payback.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Keith, I appreciate the sentiment, but we can’t hurt him.”

“Never said we would,” Keith said as he moved closer. He whispered his plan in Lance’s ear, and he snickered more with every word.

“Dude..no way, that be awesome,” Lance said between chuckles, “but his place is probably locked.”

Keith’s smirked only widened. “Don’t worry,” he said as he held up his hands, “I got a few tricks up my sleeve for that.”

Lance knew that he should turn down Keith’s offer and insist they finish the shopping, but instead he found himself only grinning as he followed Keith’s lead.

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It turned out Keith hadn’t been exaggerating. Once they reached the house where Rob lived, they hid their already bought groceries under a bush and shifted into their cat forms. Keith then used his claws to pick lock the at front door and were able to sneak in.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Lance asked as they entered.

“My mom taught me a long time ago,” Keith said as he sniffed the air. “Looks like the place is empty.”

“Okay,” Lance said as he peeked into the living room. “Where do we start?”

Keith approached the couch, jumped onto it and began to dig his claws into the cushions. “Here. Just pick a spot and start tearing.”

Lance twitched his ears in thought, until he spotted a fancy laced pillow on a chair. He grinned as he jumped and gleefully dragged his sharps claws through it.

_I recall Rob’s wife always liked this pillow,_ Lance thought. _Man, this feels satisfying._

Once the pillow was shredded, Lance then proceeded to roll around on the couch. He then stood up and looked over his work of leaving his cat hair all over it. “Perfect.”

A crash caused his ears to twitch. He turned and saw Keith had knocked over a vase from the coffee table. The vase was still intact, however, the water and flowers inside it were all over the rug.

“You’ve made a nice mess,” Lance said as he scurried over.

Keith shrugged as he looked to Lance. “Once we’re done with this room, is there anything else you want us to do?”

Lance twitched his tail, and then paused as a thought struck him. “I got one idea..but it’s a bit of a risk.”

Keith narrowed his eyes, but Lance sensed a spark of curiosity behind them. “Yeah? What is it?”

Lance hesitated. “We could get in big trouble if we’re caught-”

“We just won’t get caught,” Keith replied firmly as he moved closer. “We’re going for all out vengeance here. So, if there’s something you would really like to do, I say we do it.”

Lance swallowed, but he gave a sly smile as he explained his idea.

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It took a bit of work to form their plan. They entered the bathroom and Lance shifted into his human form to open the window that was behind the toilet. To be safe, he wiped off any fingerprints, then morphed back into his cat form and then had to do the hard part of waiting.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long. They both heard the door open and footsteps enter the house.

Lance went over to lift the lid of the toilet as Keith began to leave the room.

“Make sure you’re ready,” Keith told him as he exited the room.

Lance quickly jumped up to be on top of the tank of the toilet. His tail nervously twitched as he suddenly heard a surprise yell from Rob and his wife.

“Hey! What- HEY! GET BACK HERE WITH MY PHONE!”

Keith came racing into the bathroom, and jumped up to be sitting next to Lance. He then carefully placed the cellphone at Lance’s feet just as Rob halted in the hallway and nearly tripped over.

“Alright, you! Give me…” Rob had raised an accusing finger, but lowered it and blinked in confusion as he stared at the two cats. “Lance?”

Lance gave a meow and ever slowly began to push the cellphone forward with his paw. Rob seemed stunned, but awoke from his stupdor when he clued in where the phone was going to land. “Wait! NO!”

It was too late. Lance gave it a final push and with a quiet splash fell into the opened toilet. Rob screamed as he dived into it. Lance and Keith didn’t stay to watch as they hastily jumped up to the window ledge and dove out onto the lawn outside.

“You stupid cats get back here!” Rob called out the window, but he was ignored.

Lance’s heart pounded as they ran at top speed and didn’t stop until they reached an alleyway. They ducked inside and changed back into their human forms. Lance panted as he leaned against the wall.

“Is..is he following us?” he asked.

Keith looked up and gave a thumbs up. “Nope, looks like we’re in the clear.”

Lance continued to pant, but slowly he began to chuckle and it grew louder until it turned into a full blown laugh. He tossed a fist up in the air. “Oh man! That was amazing! Did you see the look on his face?!”

Keith chuckled as he sat on the ground. “I know. The way he screamed made it sound like we had cut off his leg.”

“And he hadn’t even seen the living room yet,” Lance said between giggled as he squeezed his eye shut. “Revenge is truly sweet!” His laughter than slowed down as he managed to catch his breath. “Granted, not sure if Shiro would approve.”

“He doesn’t have to know about this,” Keith said as he pulled up and sat next to him. “Feel better.”

Lance swallowed and nodded. “Yes.” He bit his lower lip and turned to him. “Thanks, Keith. This means a lot to me, I don’t know what I could do for you in return.”

Keith gave a small smile and patted his shoulder. “Let me have your sunny spot and we’ll call it even.”

Lance scoffed and shook a finger. “I’ll share it. Maybe ask Pidge to make a chart..with colours. Things always have to be coloured coded according to her.”

Keith smiled as he stood up. “Come on. We better go get the groceries and finish shopping before the others start to worry.”

“Yeah,” Lance said as he stood. “Although, we’re already a few hours late. We’ll have to think up of a good excuse to explain why.”

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Shiro raised a bemused eyebrow. “You two..got chased...by a pair of great danes?”

“It was the craziest thing,” Lance exclaimed as he held up the bag of groceries. “They chased us all over the market.” He ran in place to demonstrate. “They just refused to leave us alone.”

“Why?” Allura asked as she stood next to Keith.

“They probably wanted the bacon Hunk asked us to get or maybe they could smell we were cats,” Lance poked Keith’s side. “Right?”

Keith blinked, but then quickly nodded. “Uh..yes, it was nuts.”

Lance gave an inward sigh. _I’m going to have to teach him how to lie better._

“So, the reason you guys took so long to get groceries was because you were chased by dogs?” Shiro repeated.

“Yeah, and then we got a bit lost and had to back tracked.” Lance tossed his hands up in the air. “Frankly, it’s a miracle we made it home in one piece.”

Shiro looked skeptic, but Allura smiled as she took the bags from Lance. “And we are very glad you are home.” She gave both Lance and Keith a smile before she left. “I’ll go bring these to the kitchen and explain to Hunk what took you two so long.”

Lance smiled, but dropped his frown as he looked back to Shiro. He still held his disapproving frown. Keith fidgeted slightly as Lance gave a shaky smile.

After a moment, Shiro sighed. “For the record, I don’t believe a word of it, but let me ask you two this.” He held up a finger. “Did you two learn to get along?”

Lance blinked, looked to Keith and found himself nodding. “Yeah..well, I wouldn’t say we were best buddies yet-”

“But we’re getting along better,” Keith finished.

Shiro narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms. “Then, that’s enough and I’m not going to ask any details, at least for now.” He patted both of their shoulders. “Whatever you two did, I hope it was legal.”

Keith shrugged. “Depends on your definition of it.”

Shiro froze and it took all of Lance’s willpower not to laugh as he turned his face away from them. “Nope, not going to ask.”

Lance and Keith watched him go and continued to resist the urge to laugh, but were not afraid to exchange satisfied smirks. Lance sensed this was the start of a very mischievous friendship.


End file.
